I've owned a Rancilio Silvia for over 1 year now, and recently got a timer so the machine is hot and ready when I come home from school. The Rancilio Silvia produces the best espresso when it has been heated for at least 1 hour. My timer keeps the Silvia on for a 3 hour window everyday. I've calculated the cost per latte. My logic for this problem is presented below.

Espresso Machine & Grinder:Rancilio Silvia and Rocky combo: ~$1,000 Cost of machines spread out over 10 years (365 days a year) assuming 1 latte per day: $0.274Total Cost of a latte derived from machines: $0.274

TOTAL Cost of producing 1 latte at home: $2.492

Now, I assumed the machine would be on 3 hours a day because I need a 3 hour window to allow for flexibility in my schedule. This assumption drives up the cost of each latte however I am not factoring in maintenance, cleaning products, accessories (tamper, cups, ect), water usage, ect.

In conclusion, the total cost of a homemade latte is ~$2.50. The average price of an 8-12oz "small" latte is ~$3.00-3.50. Furthermore, it takes me around 20 mins to make a latte from scratch including cleanup.

This raises the question I sought to answer: Is it worth spending the time, capital, labor, and kitchen space to save approximately 50 cents a day? Does owning an espresso machine really save that much money? Thoughts?

First of all, I think very few of us here are actually in this to save money. Its all about quality coffee.Saving money sometimes is just another rationalization / excuse for our Hobby :)

But Anyway, One thing I noticed was that you are over estimating the electricity cost. Your Sylvia is rated at 1100 watts, but it cycles on and off.When on standby for 3 hours, my guess is that the heater is on probably less than 20% of the time. So your electricity cost is probably closer to 20c than $1.

You know I thought about that but when I looked up the specs for the Silvia I figured they took that into consideration. Do you know if this is confirmed anywhere? if so that would reduce my estimated price by about 70-80 cents!

And I do realize espresso making is a hobby and is incredibly interesting/fun. Like you said, this is just the rational aspect :)

No latte from a cafe has ever measured up to even the halfassed ones I produce when I put the time into it. Also, no cafe accommodates me in my bathrobe when I'm half asleep.

A few notes about your figures:

-Good mother of mercy, $17/12oz is more expensive than even some of the boutique stuff I've found locally. I guess this is counting the shipping?

-Has PG&E really jacked up prices to 33 cents per kWH since I moved from the Bay??

I think, in the end, it's not about saving money. It usually starts out that way. There's a few threads a week from people who are like "Hey, I love my Starbucks but I'd really like to save some money." But in the end, the process of doing it becomes a hobby in itself. Espresso is the perfect (or worst) hobby for the obsessive control freak who loves to tinker. It's also a social lubricant in itself and is absolutely terrific for entertaining. I've had guests tell me they don't care for coffee come back to my house craving another latte. It's not because I'm particularly good at this (I still don't have one of those gleaming steel cubes yet), but because cafe coffee--especially Starbucks--is so mediocre and most Americans are used to drinking probably the worst coffee in the world. This isn't snobbery, it's a shocking fact I didn't realize until I got into this. I thought I HATED coffee until I got into this.

About the figures, I found that good quality coffee isn't accesible anywhere near my city, so yes, the $17 includes the almost unbearable shipping cost of $4-6Also, PG&E has that tiered system, my house always breaches the third tier which cost 33 cents kWH, and since an espresso macine is considered an extra and luxury appliance, I used the third tier to calculate it's cost.

However I completely agree with your point. I started this hobby to save money because I used to stop by Starbucks everyday after school for a mocha and it was expensive. I've gradually tapered off of the chocolate and have learned to appreciate a good latte. And I've had many guest love these lattes, I guess your point about the standard of coffee in this country has something to do with it :p

A trip to the San Ramon Whole Foods should provide you with the coffee you need without having to worry about shipping or to Pacific roasters in Walnut Creek.

As far as the original question, you are not comparing apples to apples. The coffee that you are making at home is by far better than what you bought at Starbucks so much so that you do not even use mocha syrup. If you are going to compare something more in line with Starbucks you should probably be using the 5 dollar a pound coffee from Costco, which will allow you to save another 75 cents or so.

Going through the drive through at Tim Hortons or Starbucks to get my morning coffee has always been too time consuming, too aggravating (People freak out if you order a toasted bagel with your coffee at Timmies, because it takes too long.) and the coffee isn't all that great anyway.

Then, I bought a K-Cup machine because I just wanted my coffee fast. Wake up, spend 2 minutes making coffee, drink it, then go to work.

The problem with K-Cups I found is that the coffee just didn't have enough flavor for me. (In the morning, my taste buds are nearly dead) So, I tried dark roasts, bold cups.. they were OK, but the coffee just wasn't strong enough. So I tried flavoured coffees.. Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh. I find the smell of flavored coffees brewing to be downright repulsive.

So, I took the leap and got myself a Silvia. I got up 20 minutes early and spent 10 minutes going through the routine.. The reward was far more worth it than anything I could get from a coffee shop. I can drink shots completely straight in the morning, but prefer to have them with a little bit of sugar.

Now, I've made the leap to a much more expensive machine... my daily routine has been cut in half because I don't have to wait on the machine. It's just as much reward, but with far less "Cost" in terms of time. Now, in terms of money.. holy crud... Lets just say I've spent more than I probably should have!!!

I kind of think where this hobby pays for itself is when you bang off multiple drinks for multiple people or have a few drinks for yourself throughout the day. Suddenly, a $3 espresso ends up only costing $0.50.. A decent latte here costs about $5, so I see even more savings than what you have.

I will admit that coffee certainly is a good conversation starter and having a nice shiny machine on the counter certainly does make people do a second glance, especially when they kind of wonder how it works and how good you can make a coffee.

Its just a shame that my own wife hates drinking coffee..

Garbage In, Garbage Out, for every step of the process. From Beans to grinder, grounds to machine, coffee to cup.

Thank you for your reply. Regarding the coffee at whole foods, do they sell fresh coffee with roast dates? I've become obsessive about this after researching more about my Silvia.

Also, I was comparing this to an upper end local cafe. There are some pretty good cafes around, and while their shots are not as good as mine, they are certainly miles ahead of chains like starbucks and are more consistent than my home shots.

How do you store that much coffee? It takes me 3 weeks to go through 12oz, I freeze the beans in 60 gram segments or 3 lattes. Not only do I not have enough room for 5bls, but there is probably some negative implications with freezing coffee for that long right?

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